Mala

Dubstep. For better or worse it’s one of the most relevant genres of music around right now. In this day and age where everyone’s encouraged to spew whatever half formed, misguided and misinformed opinion they have to anyone within earshot like it means something (yes, I do realize the irony of saying that here, of all places), this means that it’s incredibly divisive. However, I find this kind of suspicious, since the leading lights of the genre are so obviously talented then what’s there to be divided over? Right here we have one of those leading lights in the form of Mala, one half of Norwood, South London production legends Digital Mystikz and DJ par excellence. His is a style that takes the usual dubstep tropes and fuses them with traditional Cuban music and it goes over like gangbusters live. It’s a truly thrilling combination that can simultaneously keep a party going through a nuclear war but the Cuban influences give the music a sense of humanity and a soul that a lot of party music in general doesn’t seem to have. Mala seems to be becoming somewhat of a renaissance man, since his talents live and behind the studio have seen him perform at everything from Outlook to the London Jazz Festival. Which is just as well, since there isn’t a better ambassador for bass music than him, and anyone can see it in every live show that he plays. Highly recommended.

Seeing a Machinedrum set is a transformative experience. Given that his sound is made up of everything from footwork, IDM to UK styles of Bass you honestly don’t know what you’re going to get. Over the course of his set you can experience everything from hypnotizing Footwork chops to woozy hip hop remixes all mixed and spun in a manner that is totally unpredictable.

The energy of the night is spurred on by the relentless movement of the crowd. Given the mix of styles thrown into Machinedrum’s sound, the crowd all react in their own high-octane manner making the dance floor a wonderful mismatch of shapes and moves. Seriously just check out one of his Boilerroom video for a little insight into the blissful chaos his sets provoke.

Machinedrum’s set is brilliantly current. A mismatch of high energy styles all coming together to create a perfect snapshot of 2014. Seeing him live can make you feel a part of something modern and unique and that’s a hell of feeling to get from a live set.